La Salle sweeps first round of UAAP women’s volleyball

MANILA, Philippines — Defending champion La Salle capped its first-round sweep with a 25-12, 25-18, 25-20 dispatching of University of the East in the UAAP season 76 women’s volleyball.

Coach Ramil De Jesus rested his starters and gave the Lady Spikers’ second unit time on the floor as they gear up for the second round, which kicks off on Saturday.

“I saw that the game was under control so I used my sparingly-used players to give them confidence for the second round,” De Jesus told reporters at the Arena in San Juan.

Though the Lady Spikers ran into little trouble against the winless Lady Warriors, the match proved to be more competitive than one would expect.

UE even pulled within 20-23 in the third set, but La Salle, which hasn’t dropped a set all season-long, was quick to react and wrap it up.

Ara Galang, who accounted for the match-clinching hit, led the Lady Spikers with 13 points including two service aces.

Other La Salle stars like Aby Maraño and Mika Reyes combined for only 11 points. Rookie Desiree Cheng added eight.

The Lady Warriors, the lone squad sans a win in the tournament, still couldn’t steer away from their error-prone ways and wasted 25 points on miscues.

Sarina Bulan scored 10 for UE, while Shaya Adorador added nine points.